In the prior art, it is known to form springs from wire, and to insert said springs into strings of pocketed or "Marshall" type coils. An example of such a construction is illustrated in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,234,983 and 4,986,518 to Stumpf (hereinafter incorporated by reference). Methods and apparatuses for providing such constructions is disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,439,977 and 4,854,023 to Stumpf (hereinafter incorporated by reference). Such elongate constructions, sometimes called pocketed coil strings, may then be assembled into an innerspring construction as disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,566,926 and 4,578,934 to Stumpf (hereinafter incorporated by reference).
Although the above inventions provide effective, a need has been recognized for a method and apparatus for providing such innerspring constructions in a variety of sizes and coil heights to satisfy a buying public which has a recognized variety of mattress preferences. In order to minimize inventory expenses and to provide a truly "produced as needed" product, a need was recognized to provide a single manufacturing process which could be adapted to produce a variety of innerspring construction sizes. To achieve this goal, a need has also been recognized for a spring manufacturing apparatus which can manufacture springs having differing wire lengths, spring heights, and spring widths, with a minimum of changeover difficulties.